Week 70!

Family and Friends,

Wow, time sure has flown by. 70 weeks now in the mission. 490 days.

Speaking of time flying by, it seems like yesterday that I was last typing a letter haha.

This week had three miraculous events which will constitute this weeks letter.

The first being our mission Christmas Conference. There were a number of Hymns, Presentations, and special thoughts about Jesus Christ. My district (8 missionaries) sung a mixture of 3 hymns about Christs birth, death, and resurrection. It was really special. Before each hymn, I read a correlated scripture. Isaiah 9:6 was one of my favorites.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The second event was the baptism of Altair! The sisters have been teaching him and I did his baptismal interview. His baptism was really special and the gospel of Jesus Christ has made an incredible difference in his life.

The third being the special sacrament meeting this week. Like the mission conference, there were many hymns sung and the Elders all sang (a group of us 5) The First Noel. It was super great!

Love you all!

Elder Anderson

 (Sorry the above pic is up-side down!)

Week 69!

Family and Friends,

João Victor came to Church this Sunday again and liked it a lot! He's a cool guy, and we've been teaching him a lot. He is progressing well. I'm excited for him! 

Two recent funny stories:

This past Tuesday, we had stopped by a store on our way home. As I had taken my money out of my wallet, I ended up leaving my drivers license and a picture I had in my wallet in the store! We returned the next morning and found them both!

I had a medical checkup this past Wednesday night. It was in the center of the town and we went there with an Uber. On the way back, we decided to walk to save money. We used a bridge over the big river in the city and we ended up behind a number of huge, old, and empty warehouses. We didn't see anyone for about 10 minutes as we walked and it was late at night but we made it out safe and I saw a wild (and live! I've only seen them dead on the road before) armadillo. It was cool haha.

We had transfers this past week but Elder Motta and I will stay here! In fact, our whole district of 8 missionaries stayed haha.

One thing that I've seen a lot lately is the difference in the lives of those who practice (yes, practice, not have) the Gospel and those who don't. There are many people and families I have known which are incredible, peaceful, and happy. There are also many which are the exact opposite. The main difference in the lives of these people seems to be the level of application of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who obey and keep His perfect principles are happier, kinder, and more successful in life.

Love you all!

-Elder Anderson

Week 68!

Family and Friends,

This past week was incredibly busy and flew by!

This past Monday night, we had a family home evening with a few families from the ward. Miltom and Lucia both came! They are a couple and have been investigating The Church for over a year now. It was great for them to get to know the members of the Church better.

We got to know a 36 year old man named Leo this week. He's brazilian but has lived in Germany, New Zealand, and has visited the USA twice! He speaks english and has a crazy accent! Haha, he says, "Mate" a ton when talking about friends.

I've been training for my mile time a lot lately and I ran a 5:58 Mile this past Wednesday! That was cool.

We had a zone conference with President Barros (Bah-hos in Portuguese) this Thursday. It was really great! He focused on positivity and elevating our teaching quality. 

Joâo Victor (a 20 year old) came to Church this Sunday! His family is against the Church and seems to have heard some stuff on the internet about it. Haha, but he liked it a lot and already knows a lot of the youth there!

Now it's P-day, we'll have some more "off-time" and get back at it tonight! We have another family home evening planned!

Love you all!

Week 67!

Family and Friends,

We had another incredible week this week, we talked to over 100 people and 22 accepted to hear our message! We will be going house to house like crazy this week teaching and testifying of what we know to be true. It'll be great.

One highlight this week was our lunch with Bishop! He took us (a group of 4 Elders) to a nearby Pizza Hut buffet. We all ate a ton and I don't regret it! haha, good stuff. 

Also, two weeks ago, we planned and held an activity at the church! We had almost 40 people there. I gave a spiritual thought on working together and love and we played some games and ate "esfihas" (mini pizzas). It was great! I've eaten a lot of pizza recently... haha.

This past Saturday, there was a baptism at the Church! Miguel (8 years old from a family of members) was baptized. It was really special and a lot of people went to see.

Love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Anderson